Philly Confidential

The SEPTA driver who was attacked by a group of teens Saturday afternoon was rehospitalized Sunday because he was in intense pain, according to SEPTA spokeswoman Jerri Williams.

"He's still there under pain medication for observation and tests," Williams said this afternoon.

The 45-year-old driver was punched, pulled off of his bus and then beaten by three teen boys who had been unruly passengers, according to police. The driver was treated for a broken nose and received stitches Saturday but was then released from the hospital. He returned yesterday when he began to feel a lot of pain, Williams said.

While about two-thirds of SEPTA's buses are now equipped with surveillance cameras, the Route 52 bus in question was not, Williams said.

Luckily, the driver had put on the emergency brake before the teens pulled him out of his seat to beat him, Williams said.

"The lives of the passengers on the bus could have been in danger and, of course, anybody else on the street," she said.

This was the 13th assault on a SEPTA driver this year, according to Williams. Last year there were 91 assaults on drivers, while the year before there were just 18, she said.

"Nobody really knows what's happening," Williams said. "A lot of times it has nothing to do with any type of altercation or words, people are just mad and you have someone sitting there and they take the brunt of your frustration."

The three juveniles involved have been charged with aggravated assault and related offenses.